ENEOS Holdings, Inc. (CEO: Katsuyuki Ota, hereinafter referred to as “ENEOS”) and SENSYN ROBOTICS, Inc. (CEO: Takuya Kitamura, hereinafter referred to as “SENSYN ROBOTICS”) are pleased to announce the opening of “ENEOS Kawasaki Lab,” a drone showcase and field test site within ENEOS Corporation’s Kawasaki plant.
In order to solve some of the problems that the Japanese society continues to face into the future—labor shortage due to the aging population and the need to deal with an aging infrastructure—we are working on developing new drone (including unmanned ground vehicles) solutions for inspecting, security monitoring and disaster recovery. Our vision is to build stations that provide drone services and supply energy all over Japan, and utilize robotics to automate operations.
“ENEOS Kawasaki Lab” was set up as the first step toward realizing the above vision through open innovation with various co-creation partners※, and it has the following two functions.
1. A showcase displaying the drone technology/products
This is a site for visitors to view the drone technology/products that are displayed and to hold discussions about business co-creation.
2. A site that can be used to demo and field test the drone inspection technology that is being developed
By utilizing the actual facilities (pipes, tanks, etc.) of a plant where operations have been discontinued, we are able to field test the drones in a setting that is very close to the actual inspection environment. In addition, by having visitors view the demo of the drone inspection, we can provide them with a more concrete image of how it can be utilized. ENEOS and SENSYN ROBOTICS will initially be operating the drones, but in the long run we expect our co-creation partners to also make extensive use of this site.
By combining the assets owned by the ENEOS Group with the latest robotics technology developed by SENSYN ROBOTICS, we aim to realize an exciting future in which drones will play an active role within our city, enriching people’s lives.
※Co-creation partners
We are looking for the following type of organizations that might be able to co-create our “vision of building stations that provide drone services and supply energy all over Japan, and utilize robotics to automate operations” with us.
(1) Government agencies
(2) Municipalities
(3) Businesses that could utilize a drone inspection system
(Examples: electric power, chemical, steel, construction, real estate, etc.)
(4) Businesses that could utilize a drone security system
(Examples: real estate, smart city operator, owner of an important facility, etc.)
(5) Businesses and research institutions related to drones
(Examples: infrastructure, UTM, insurance and related services, aircraft development, etc.)
Overview of the Facility
Name of facility: ENEOS Kawasaki Lab
Location: 12-1, Ogimachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa (within ENEOS Corporation’s Kawasaki plant)
How to use the facility: Site visits by appointment only, which can be made through our employees
Contact:kawasakilab@eneos.com
(Emerging Business Development Dept., ENEOS Holdings, Inc.)
Drone showcase
Inspecting pipelines using a drone
Tank equipment